HELP

So I am here to admit the following weaknesses

1. I am not an organized person. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
2. I am not a frugal person. I love to shop when I have the money to do so. And I'm not so good at saving.
3. I am not a domestic goddess. I hate cleaning, I hate laundry. (ok I LOVE to cook but we'll pretend that isn't part of this. You will understand in a minute)
4. I am not the world's best mom. I do my best in this arena however and I always love my daughter, even if I'm frustrated and ready to pull my hair out.


Now an example of what I mean for each.

1. I have great plans. And I will even go through and organize things. My desk for example. I went through and put my standing filer on my desk, I emptied my drawers and made one for my notebooks, one for books that I peruse frequently (the bible, early childhood activites, etc), and one for magazines that I need to read, clip articles I want, and toss. Now my desk is covered in papers, mail, clothes that need put away, items that need a home and don't have one. My drawers have become a catchall again to help with the eye sore. And I am ready to pull out my hair.
2. I went to the dollar store today to buy an alarm clock. That is ALL I needed. I walked out with an alarm clock, 2 packages of looseleaf paper, 2 small notebooks (one to carry in my purse for those oh crap moments in the car and one for wedding plans that can also go in my purse because people always call back when I'm away from home), a family organizer (for bills), and a small weekly planner (again for in my purse so I don't have scraps of paper with appointments in my purse).
3. I had my entire house clean on Saturday. Sunday I mostly sat back and enjoyed it, trying to keep up with a 4 year old hurricane, a 14 year old tsunami and 17 year old tornado. Monday I was mentally and physically exhausted and couldn't find the motivation to do more than the dishes. Today I'm disgusted with how long I've put things off and am waiting until I have ''more time'' tomorrow to do it.
4. My daughter does not want to pick up her toys. I do not want to fight with her. I do not want to listen to her scream. (If you read my previous blog post you know I took Grandpa to the doctor today and that is a day in and of itself. And it takes as much patience as it does with a small child because you want to help to pick up the pace but you know it will only frustrate them if you do and take away a piece of their independence that he is already losing)

None of these make me a bad person. I know this. However (and the reason I am devoting this much time and effort to explaining these downfalls of mine) this is the year that I plan to do better at all of these. And........that's right I have another list of how I want to achieve this.

1. Organize better
    A. With moving out of my parents house I will be able to set up an organizational system that works for ME and that will be the norm from the beginning.
    B. Until that time I am just going to give myself 2 days a week that I reorganize my areas. Thursday and Sunday. (Wednesday being the day that I am least likely to care about organization on any level with leaving home at 630am and not getting home until sometime after 6 if I'm lucky and Sunday being the day before the week starts)
    C. Make a conscious effort to put things in their homes, not just where I can put them down. Also make their homes be simple and easy to do.
2. Spend less
    A. Make a list. If it isn't on the list, add it to the list for next time. If, when I make up the new list, I still want then look at if it is something I need now, something I can wait until the end of the month to see if I have the money in the budget, or something I just want and can put on my Christmas\Birthday list
   B. Clip coupons. Shop from the coupons.
   C. Keep a journal of all items I purchase. At the end of the month add up the ''silly'' or ''unnecessary'' purchases and see how much money I ''wasted''
3. Clean better\more
   A. Set up a schedule. Stick to the cleaning schedule. Post somewhere easy to see, like bedroom door.
   B. Do not be afraid to ask for help. A 14 year old and a 17 year old should not be forces of nature to destroy, rather allies to ask for help.
   C. Use a basket system. (I will expand on this tomorrow when I start it)
   D. Do not allow things to 'wait for tomorrow' Tomorrow I will not want to do it anymore, additional items will be piled up, and I will have more reason to procrastinate.
4. Be a better mom (I do want to say that every mom wants to be a better mom, this is just the areas I want to work on)
   A. When we move out work on nutrition, and not being a short order cook.
   B. Set up a routine for in the evenings. Do not vary. Include bath, pick up, etc in this.
   C. Have a set discipline. Do not change based on who is home, even if they try to override it. Speak with my parents about how I am going to discipline my child and let them know I need them to respect this.
   D. Allow for special 'treats' such as baking cookies together, doing a puzzle, playing a game, on weekends when she has followed the routine and picked up her toys all week.


I am learning. My daughter may be 4 but I am 24. I am still learning what works for us. I am starting a new job, no longer going to school. Instead of going to school from 8a to 1230p, I will be working from 8a to 430p. I have to find things that work. If you have any ideas, thoughts, etc please feel free to comment. If you have a blog and you think it might help, or maybe even just give me someone I can feel for and laugh with, leave the link for me.